After finishing up some research I was too tired to complete last night, I headed into the studio and turned on the computer in there for the first time in months. Then I brought in the air conditioner after pressing a couple buttons made me sweat profusely. My homeboy Santo has been wanting some tracks to sing but since I’m not really working on any music right now, I wasn’t able to send him something immediately like usual. But the album I was working on at the tail end of 2014, The Memory Of Light, had a few spots already set to feature him. So I fired up the equipment, transferred the instrumental for ‘Yoga Pants’, finished writing the chorus for him and sang a demo version. Since he’s back in CT, I send him the instrumental and my demo version via email, he records his and sends it back to me for any changes. ‘Yoga Pants’ is a song about, you guessed it, yoga pants and men’s love for them. It’s on an upbeat instrumental I made over a decade ago with my producer Big Andy. The song is more lighthearted and sexually explicit than my normal material but would resonate with a wide audience, if anyone were to actually listen to it. I can’t wait to see what Santo does with the chorus and I’m sure as soon as he sends it, I’ll be hitting the studio to lay my verses. After scanning my lyrics, the first two verses are great but the third falls a little short, rather than rewriting it which I rarely do, I might cut it completely and either give Santo a singing verse or have my longtime partner in rhyme Gambino hop on it. He’s fresh off of opening up for the original Terror Squad over the weekend at a nightclub in the Bronx. This track is right up his alley and might help him get some more exposure. I’ve given up on my dream of making it in the rap game but he’s still going strong.
However, every once in a while I’ll get the urge to drop some new stuff and show it to the world. The problem is no one cares so what’s the point? But today I went over the songs I had ready to go for The Memory Of Light and man that would be one hell of an album. It just needs to be recorded. Who knows, maybe it will be.
I toyed with the idea of going to Acadia today by myself but decided against it, figuring I’d stay in the air conditioned studio and work on some music and maybe sort through some more of my crap in the never ending process of cleaning and organizing my room. Jaime’s friend Mallory along with her son Forest had planned to go bridesmaid dress shopping for Mallory’s upcoming wedding but opted out considering the heat. They just came over to visit instead so I brought the air conditioner back into the living room for them, killing my plans of doing any work in the studio. Seeing Mallory with her adorable son made me realize yet again why we aren’t having children. It becomes a lifestyle, taking up all your time and attention, something we are not willing to give up. For some reason, I don’t regret my decision not to become a parent. It seems wonderful and all, its just not for me or my wife.
While visiting with them, Jaime mentioned I should start researching hikes for our annual vacation to the White Mountains in New Hampshire just a month away. I already have more than enough hikes to keep us occupied for our two weeks there but I love searching through old hiking guides and maps to find abandoned trails and bushwhacks to places no one sees. I’m looking at an interesting one right now on Mt Osceola which involves a 2.5 mile bushwhack along a river that would bring us high onto the rockslides of the rugged mountain. Jaime thinks that might be a bit long though and I have to admit, she’s kind of right, doesn’t stop me from wanting to do it though. We may settle on a regular trail hike to the Greeley Ponds nearby and do a shorter bushwhack from there up some smaller rockslides. But it’s something to keep in mind for the future when Donnie gets out of prison, giving me a hiking buddy who’s as crazy and adventurous as I am, okay maybe not quite but close.
After my ‘little brother’ Jeff was mentioned in conversation, I decided to message Samantha, his ex and mother of his child, to see if she’d heard from him lately. He hasn’t had any activity on Facebook which is odd for him because he’s usually bitching about being lonely or not having a job and he hasn’t responded to any of my messages in months now. Figured I’d check up on him to make sure he’s okay and not dying in a ditch somewhere. He’s chosen his own path but being one of my oldest friends, I still feel like I have to look after him. I was appointed their king, I created a Kingdom and I made them my knights, so I feel obligated to lead them back on track when they go astray.
My tomato and bowl of cereal weren’t enough to keep me full so I decided to head out and grab some lunch, not wanting to cook anything in the already hot as hell kitchen. The girls took Forest to go get some ice cream at Gifford’s and I headed off to eat at, well, never mind, I went to Salvation Army instead, based off a feeling there would be something good there. I’ve learned to trust those instincts and went, despite being hungry. And what do you know, a $5 pair of hiking pants in brand new condition were sitting on top of one of the racks. I paid $10 for my hiking shorts and that was at work where I get a discount on the already discounted items. They’ll be great for Fall and early Spring hiking when my jeans are too heavy and restrictive. They’re even in the khaki color, not that ugly green those pants tend to come in. And they’re just my size, even a little bigger, the way I like them because it makes rock hopping easier. A perfect find.
On my way to get food afterward at, well I still hadn’t decided since finding out the Hannaford ‘wing bar’ is closed from 2:00 to 4:00, Jaime called and said she was back already and Mal and Forest left because he was too hot in the ninety degree weather with high humidity. But Mal did get to see our woodchuck ‘Linky’ in the yard which excited her because oddly enough she’d never seen one before. I’ve been trying to get a woodchuck, my favorite animal, to move in for years now and this summer it finally happened, right under our shed. So I swung by the house to pick up Jaime and we went off to Ruby Tuesday for the salad bar, what we both wanted earlier in the afternoon. Three plates of salad later and a couple bites of my burger, I was finally full. At least it was salad I filled up on.Jaime sat in the air conditioned car as I went into Walmart to get some new socks as I’ve had to throw many of mine away lately. They’ve been developing holes like crazy. Of course I passed through the toy department but showed a little self restraint for once and did not buy the WWE Legion Of Doom 2 pack for $20. All of their packages were a little messed up so that helped dissuade me. I already have them in singles packs from the Jakks Classics line in the exact same blue outfits. I’ll wait and get their Hasbro tag team pack from the 90’s line at some point. Of course that’s around the $100 mark but I want that one more so this one wasn’t worth it. See, I’m still trying to talk myself out of it. You have enough figures, Matt, more than enough, you can’t take them all with you when you move into a condo. So I stuck with just the two packs of socks. And a packet of Butterfinger Cups, to make me feel better about leaving the Legion Of Doom on the rack. It worked. But I was good and only ate three of the bite size cups, way below the serving size.
Then I moved on to the Goodwill in Brewer where I got an audio cable for Jaime’s car because hers is in the process of biting the dust. Then I stopped at Mardens but didn’t find anything. We decided to drive around some more in order to stay in the cold car and headed over to the mall where I went to the Bangor Goodwill and Hands Of Hope thrift stores, also where I got nothing. I rarely find anything but I’m always on the lookout. Right now I’m hunting for raincoats for both me and Jaime, figuring this vacation will be all rain since we got not a drop last year over the course of two weeks. I already got my two pairs of hiking shoes and a fanny pack, yes a fanny pack, for the short hikes, after years of making fun of my dad for wearing one because it made him look like a tourist. Now all I need is a raincoat. Not as easy to find as one would think. I’m also still on the search for a pair of desert camo pants for a photo shoot for my Lost In The Sands album. I’m beginning to think I’ll never find these damn things, unless of course I drop $30 for a new pair which seems pointless seeing as how I’ll wear them once for a photo shoot and probably never again. I’m also on the hunt for clothes I can alter for the clothing line I’m working on which is surprisingly coming out quite good. I’m now on my second pair of jeans after doing a few t-shirts. So I’m in need of more black jeans and camouflage bandanas to cut up. You wouldn’t think it’d be this hard to find camouflage bandanas, especially in Maine. Hiking books and action figures are always a welcome find as well. And some kind of bowl or tub I can use to make my own rock fountain, I have the water pump, I have the rocks, all I need is something to put them in.
We stopped for beef jerky and cookie sandwiches on the way home. Now I think it’s time for a little snack. We’ve been hanging out in the air conditioned bedroom since we got home, Jaime reading magazines on her tablet, me researching hikes and then typing this blog entry. Not sure why I decided to do it, just felt it needed to be done. Now’s as good a time to start as any.
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